Jacob Finds the Truth
by Vampiratelvr
Summary: My truck pushed its way through the trees of the La Push reservation...I was going to see Jacob, to make him realize that although he was my friend  I didn't love him. Not like that. He wasn't Edward. BEFORE Eclipse came out!


**Hey, guys! Here's a one-shot I wrote last year…it's a bit of a happy moment before Eclipse came out. I just wanted to post this; this was my guess on how to clear up the Jacob/Bella relationship. **

**Disclaimer: Remember, folks, I don't own Edward, Bella, Twilight, New Moon, or Eclipse. Or even Jacob. All I own is the semi-colon I stole from the kid across the street. ; Enjoy!**

Jacob Finds the Truth

"Morning, Dad!" I called to Charlie, whose was watching TV in the next room.

"Morning, Bells," he replied. Then he said, suspicion clear in his voice, "Where are you off to in such a hurry this early in the morning?"

I laughed, a tinge of annoyance in my tone. "I'm going down to La Push."

Charlie looked up in surprise. "But Bella, honey, you haven't been down there in such a long time! About two weeks, right? And I thought you'd be with-"

I cut him off. "Dad, I'm not _always_ with Edward. I have friends, too, you know."

"Well…" he said, still sounding suspicious. "I had thought that Edward didn't particularly like Jacob…and the other way around, too, I guess. I had kind of thought that, well…" He was glaring at the TV. Clearly he was uncomfortable. "That they were both a little jealous of each other."  
I snorted. 'A little' didn't even begin to cover it. "Naw, Dad, they just have to get used to each other." And Jake has to realize that although I'm his friend, I'm sticking with Edward, I added to myself. "See ya later, Dad. I'll be back in time for dinner." I reached for the handle. "Well, actually…I _probably_ will, but if I'm not, order a pizza, okay?"

"Okay, Bella," Charlie said, not even bothering to conceal his evident worry. I wondered if he was still getting over my months of living in zombie-land. I opened the door and stepped into the cool drizzle of Forks, Washington.

My truck pushed its way through the trees of the La Push reservation, and finally parked in the Black's driveway. I opened the car door and immediately fell into a puddle. A low, harsh laugh came from the trees around me. "So, did _he _send you here, Bella?" asked Jake, glaring at me, practically spitting. "Your vile _bloodsucker _boyfriend that you _love _so much?"

"No. I came up here by myself, Jacob Black. So don't you _dare _use that tone with me," I said frostily. A surprised look flitted across his face.

"Really?" he said, coming over to help me out of the mud puddle and wiping me off with the sleeve of his coat.

"Yes, really. Jake…" I began. He held a finger to my lips to silence me. I pushed it aside. "Jake, I _miss _you. I've told you all along, Jake. I _love _them. You don't understand. I…but when he left me, Jake, you were there for me and you took care of me and I…even if I don't need you anymore to live, Jake, I need you so that I can be happy. I can't be happy if you're not here. But I can't live without Edward. And, Jake…"

"I'm sorry, Bella," he said, his tone harsh and cutting. "I want to be friends, but if you love him…I'm sorry, but I can't."

"Jake, you said you'd be my friend no matter what I loved!" I said, my voice changing from reprimanding to pleading in a second.

"I'm sorry, but I _can't_, Bella! I _want _to! In my mind, I pictured becoming _friends _with him! And I wanted to _so _much! He seems…well, he loves you. I was wrong, Bella, he really, truly, _loves _you. I didn't know that…and when I pictured becoming friends with him, I…something stopped me. I couldn't…I tried, Bella. Believe me, Bella, I…this enmity is rooted much too deep. My human self thinks that 'heck, yes, I want to be friends!' but my…wolf…counterpart says, 'Hell, no, that's my enemy! Kill him!' See, Bella? It's impossible."

"Stop, Jake. Rewind," I said, hardly believing my ears. "I thought it was your _human _self that hated him, too!"

"Well, until I found out that it nearly killed him to leave you. That he didn't know about the other bloodsuckers he left you with. He loves you, Bells, and I can't hate anyone who loves you and cares about you."

"Oh!" I said, surprised. "So…um, what about when I become a vampire?" My voice got smaller and smaller with each word I spoke. Jake's face twisted until it didn't look like his face anymore. He stood there, quivering in silent rage.

"Get away from me, Bella!" he snarled, spit forming around his mouth. I backed away hurriedly, but my arm stretched out to him, comforting him. Minutes passed. Finally, Jake's body relaxed. He let out a deep sigh.

"Sorry, Bells. I just don't understand…" He paused, unsure of whether the next bit of his sentence would disturb me or not. "I don't understand how you can…_want_…that. That life of eternal hell. Eternal evil."

"And eternal love," I reminded him. He half smiled. The other half of his mouth was contorted into a grimace.

"Bella…I mean, a vampire! Why a vampire? I can't picture you like that…a bloodsucking killer. I mean, not a _human _killer, Bella…but I can't imagine you hurting anything."

"Jacob, I love him! I want to spend eternity with him! Forever! I can't live without him." I was beginning to panic now. I thought Jacob would understand. I thought for sure that my best friend would understand.

"I know you love him…but wasn't the original plan that when you died, he'd follow after? So why not that one anymore?"

I stared at him. "Do you not know, Jake?" I whispered. "Do you not know what will happen if I don't become one of them?"

"Um…you die?" he guessed. "Like any normal human? I just don't understand! I didn't think he wanted you to become one of them!"

"HE DOESN'T!" I screamed, my words echoing throughout the trees. Then, realizing we were still outside in the cold, wet, forest, I shivered.

"OH!" Jacob cried. "You're cold! I'm so sorry…" Without another word, he lifted me up in his arms and carried me swiftly into his house.

I poked him. "OUCH!" I yelled. "You're HOT!" Jake stared at me, uncomprehending. Then he laughed, his deep voice booming throughout the room. This wasn't the bitter, harsh laugh of his werewolf self. This was the Jacob laugh, the Jacob I knew best. I grinned and wrapped my arms around his neck. He froze. Then he smiled and hugged me back – carefully, so as not to kill me – and I knew that this was how it was supposed to be.

Friendship.

Finally, I felt his strong arms loosen, and then release me completely. "So, why was it that Edward changed his mind about the whole…changing you to one of…them….thing?" he said, a slight tremor in his voice.

"You honestly don't know?" I asked softly. He shook his head. "Well…when I was in Italy with Alice…" I noticed that he stiffened when Italy was mentioned. "…well, the Volturi aren't exactly…friends…of the Cullens. Pretty much, when Edward thought I'd died, he didn't want to live without me. So, he went to the Volturi to ask to die." Jacob nodded impatiently. "I guess you were there to hear that part, huh. Well, anyway. The Volturi refused. Intent on…death," I gulped, "he decided to, I don't know, provoke them. So he took off his shirt and was planning to walk into the sunlight." Jacob raised an eyebrow.

"Fortunately, I arrived in time to stop him. If I hadn't…the Volturi would have killed him immediately, without hesitation. But then we were in a tough situation. The Volturi surrounded us, and took us back to the three, I don't know, head vampires of the Volturi. Edward was so scared; he thought they were going to kill us. He was ready to die before me. And then Aro, the oldest one, decided to see if I could block out the other 'special talents', as well as Edward's. One of those special talents was…torture upon the mind. Excruciating. Then vampire who had that power was just a little girl. When she turned to look at me…" I shuddered.

Jake placed his hand lightly on my shoulder. "It's okay, you're safe," he soothed me.

"Thanks, Jake," I said quietly. "When she looked at me, Edward threw himself at her. And then he was on the ground…cringing silently, his body moving wildly. It…hurt so much to see that…" A tear fell from my eye. Jake wiped it away, and tightened his hold on my shoulder. "Then, when Jane was done with him, she turned to me again. Nothing happened. Edward got up and was fine. But I don't know if I could have…withstood…that pain, that utter agony." I gulped.

"Then, Aro said that…that they were allowed to go. They," I added, "Meaning Edward and Alice. I was to stay. I knew too much. I was going to be a 'guest of honor' at dinner."

Jacob growled, his eyes wild with sudden rage and hate. "Jake!" I said. "Control, Jake, it's okay. I'm fine now."

He nodded. I continued. "Aro said I could go, if…if Edward promised to change me. When Edward heard that, he looked like he was going to die. It was the same face he had made under Jane's cruel gaze. Only, he seemed to be in more pain."

I took a deep breath, and continued. "So, he promised. And then, when we left…there was a huge crowd of tourists that were brought into that room. Right when the doors closed, they began to scream. It was dinner time in Volterra." I shuddered at the memory.

Jacob looked like he was about to cry. "I'm sorry, Bella, I'm so sorry. That's horrible. You were so close…to…death…Bella, I'm sorry!" Then he did cry, huge, wracking sobs. "Bella, I didn't know, I'm so sorry. I…yes, Bella, he deserves you. I never thought that was possible that _anyone _could deserve you. But he loves you so much…"

Through my tears, I grinned weakly at him. "What are you doing, giving me your blessing?" Jake grinned back, and hugged me close to him.

"Bella…" he whispered. "I think, knowing that he has, I dunno, earned his right to be with you…I think I can become friends with him."

"Oh, one more think, Jake," I said, looking at him, worried about his reaction. He eyed me warily. "If he doesn't change me soon, they'll come kill me."

"Ah!" he breathed. "Well, we won't let that happen, Bells, count on it. I'll try to get the rest of them, especially Sam, on our side."

"'Our side'", I repeated happily. "But for now, we're friends, right?"

"No." He smiled, the 'Jacob Black' smile that I knew so well. "We're friends forever."

He said the words with such conviction, such clarity, that I knew them to be the truth.

Forever.

**A/N – Yeah, yeah. He wouldn't actually picture himself being friends with Edward – but hey, this was before Eclipse came out, so I didn't really know HOW much they hated each other. … That "GO" button looks pretty, doesn't it? But not as pretty as da semi-colon! ;**


End file.
